Friday, October 3, 2008

Adolf - Culture and the Youth

Prostitution was a major social problem in German cities. Adolf eliminated the financial motivation for such disease-spreading and unwholesome lifestyles by eliminating unemployment, and then implemented social programs to encourage the youth to be deeply involved in cultural and health related activities.

The "Hitler Youth" could be roughly compared to British "Boy Scouts", though it was far broader in scope and encompassed children from every social strata in Germany.

The effect of these social programs was rapid and far reaching. The youth came to the forefront of the new German positive attitude where the nation took pride in their work and in their heritage.

Schools were favoured with symphony concerts, art exhibitions, the opera and other displays and activities to enrich their cultural knowledge and participation in the arts.

In an interview on 5 June 1946, Adolf's sister, Paula, recalled the following about her brother:

"Of those last years we lived together with my mother I especially remember the cheerfulness of my brother and his extraordinary interest for history, geography, architecture, painting and music. At school he was nothing less than a show boy, came home with bad school reports and admonitions. At home every day he was sitting for hours on the beautiful Heitzmann grand piano, my mother had given him. This extraordinary interest for music, especially for Wagner and Listz, remained with him for all his life. Particularly strong was even at that time already his interest for the theatre and especially for the opera. I can remember that he was visiting the opera house 13 times to hear "Die Gotterdammerung". His Christmas present for his mother has always been a theatre ticket. He was also pursuing aquarelle - painting (watercolour painting) already during his school years, but more seriously in Vienna and later in Munich."

Myron's Discus ThrowerAdolf loved this sculpture so much that he bought it.

Contrary to popular opinion, the phrase "entartete Kunst" (degenerate art) was originated not by the National Socialists, but rather by the early Zionist, Max Nordau.